<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>In Knots by Providentially_Demonic</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22892560">In Knots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Providentially_Demonic/pseuds/Providentially_Demonic'>Providentially_Demonic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Cussing, Drabble Collection, Ficlets, Gen, I have feels okay?, cursing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:33:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22892560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Providentially_Demonic/pseuds/Providentially_Demonic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A couple of random bits written because I have been watching the series and I have so many feels.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Captain of Corona's Guard &amp; Cassandra (Disney), Cassandra &amp; Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Rapunzel &amp; Varian (Disney)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Last Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It is silent in the halls, once so bustling with life... a life she had once been a part of. In the midnight hour, it feels like the world is holding its breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pads, silent and sure-footed, down halls she had walked most of her life. The demon is distracted, preening in its ego, and that gives her these few precious seconds where everything is clear, as crystalline as the moonlight pouring through shattered windows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The heavy oak door does not creak when she pushes it open, well-oiled hinges doing their job as silently as she. This was one of Ra— she shies away from the name that hurts like salt in an open wound— </span>
  <em>
    <span>the princess's</span>
  </em>
  <span> favorite places. Even now, it calls to her in the darkness, the scent of old paper and leather speaking volumes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She does not light a lamp, the glow of the moon brilliant enough to read by, especially to her. Fingers trail over spines, worn smooth from years of handling. She spent years learning the in and outs of this palace and her fingers are sure as she reaches for a hidden lever. The disguised bookcase does make a sound as it opens and she freezes, breath caught like ice in her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the rest of the world remains silent, and at last she can breathe again. She pulls the door shut and only then reaches for a lamp, for there are no windows here to let in the moonlight. And that— might be no bad thing. Her fingers are steady as she lights a lamp, the flame warm and real and bright in the darkness, glowing as golden as sunlight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There are more books around her, these far older than those in the library proper. Once upon a time, the king had gathered anything of magic here in a desperate bid to save his dying, pregnant wife. He had found a solution, and these books and objects had remained untouched since, save for when a small, curious girl, looking for a place to be alone, had stumbled in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that same girl, many years grown, began pulling volumes off the shelves. Her memory of the contents were fuzzy, but one of these books held what she needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lamp had burned low and her eyes stung with exhaustion when she found what she had only half remembered. But it would do what was needed. She memorized it, for she could dare no evidence where the creature might find.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had closed the hidden door and left the library before she heard a voice call her name. "What were you doing?" The demon asks, voice a thing of poisonous sweetness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Reading." She replies. It is not a lie. "They will be coming to take back the city soon, and I thought it best to be prepared for their arrival." This too, is not a lie and she sweeps a hand at the great map of the kingdom that graces the hallway that leads to the library. "There are tunnels they might think to use— to sneak past us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The demon's eyes follow her hand and a hellish delight curls into a far-too wide smile. "Oh, clever. And they will find surprises waiting."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lets herself smile. "That's what I thought." Another distraction, and a good one. It will keep the demon occupied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knows they will not use the tunnels. R— <em>the princess</em> is too forthright for that, especially now when anger burns in her at the violation of her home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is the next day when they come. Patience has never been any of their strong suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She is waiting. On her lips are the words of a special spell, one that will end this. There can be no eclipse, not when she lets the spell escape. Not when she knows this will end it all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Sundrop's hair cannot be cut or broken, the black rocks of her own opal are likewise impervious to most damage. So one last weapon. One she knows will work. One that will leave the demon among the ashes of its own failed plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The spell to </span>
  <em>
    <span>break the unbreakable</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I may have some serious feelings about Cass and her dad bonding again. This is set in some nebulous future after Zhan Tiri has been defeated.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Movement behind her startled Cass, but before her battle-trained reflexes could respond, her brain registered a familiar comforting smell that eased the tightness in her chest. Vanilla and spices and warm milk. The drink he had made for her all through her childhood when she was frightened or sick. A smell that spoke of home and warmth and... so many things she had missed.</p><p>A warm arm came around her and offered the steaming mug. The warmth of him made her want to cuddle into him like she had as a child.</p><p>She accepted the mug, raising an eyebrow at him. There was stubble on his cheeks and his hair was mussed, in short, he looked nothing like the stern man her memories painted. "Dad?"</p><p>Suddenly he hugged her, pulling her back against his broad chest with a desperate strength. She yelped and juggled the mug, barely managing not to drop it.</p><p>"Dad?"</p><p>He said nothing, just squeezed her tighter.</p><p>"Dad... What's with the clinging and the milk? I'm not a little girl anymore."</p><p>His breath hitched against her cheek. "No. But you're still <em>my</em> little girl. My daughter."</p><p>"Oh." It took her breath away. She had hurt him so much, but all he had wanted was to get her back. Somewhere in all her anger, she had forgotten the warmth of his love.</p><p>She leaned her head into his. "Love you, daddy."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She didn't wake up screaming, and for that small mercy, Rapunzel was grateful. She was curled up in a nest of blankets on the floor of their refuge, the Snuggly Duckling pub. Eugene was a warm weight against her back and if she stretched out her arm she could touch her mother's back. The floor of the pub was covered with sleeping bodies, royalty sharing space with thugs and commoners alike, all the same in the dim glow of the low-burning fire.</p><p>Carefully, she slipped out of Eugene's loose embrace. She wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, that was for sure. She lit a candle at the remains of the fire and padded carefully through the maze of bodies. She needed air.</p><p>A brush of fur against her ankle and an inquisitive chitter warned she wasn't the only one awake. She set the candle on the counter, bent and scooped up the raccoon. "Hey, Ruddiger. Why aren't you curled up with Varian?" She cooed, scratching under his chin.</p><p>"Because I'm not sleeping either, Rapunzel." The soft voice led her to the front window. Varian was sitting on the sill, looking paler than ever in the moonlight. "You— you having nightmares too?"</p><p>"O-oh—" She crouched beside him, settling Ruddiger in his lap. "Yeah— you too?"</p><p>"It's the only compound I've found that reacts with the black stone—" his voice was barely a whisper, "— so why do I keep seeing dad trapped in the amber— every time I close my eyes." His cheeks gleamed with tears and she reached up to brush them away. “It was bad when the red rocks came and I kept seeing it over and over, but this time—” His breathing was ragged, and he squinched his eyes shut so tightly it had to hurt. "It h-hurts."</p><p>"Varian—"</p><p>"I—" he hiccupped. "I didn't fire. It— it must have malfunctioned. Gone wrong. Just like <em> everything </em> I do."</p><p>"Hey— hey!" Rapunzel grabbed him by the shoulders. "Varian, stop that! You listen to me. Okay, yes— fine, it fired, but it was a simple accident. Out of all of us, you know accidents happen. Remember the science festival? Accidents happen, whether we want them to or not."</p><p>He scrubbed helplessly at his cheeks, voice wavering. "I— what if that was the— the final straw? I could have cost—" </p><p><em> "No!" </em> She cut him off with another shake. "You don't believe that and neither do I. I— it felt like she wanted to make amends. Before that... When she was pretending to be Faith, she— she said some things that— they felt real. I have to believe <em> our </em> Cass is still there. Because—" she stopped herself, biting hard on her lower lip. "B-besides. I wouldn't have put it past Zhan Tiri to have done something. Cass is no alchemist; no magician. How else would she have gotten that sleep smoke she used on me?"</p><p>Varian's teary expression firmed a little. "There aren't too many compounds that can cause instant sleep like that, and frankly, getting the ingredients for most of them is really hard if not nearly impossible. It had to be magic."</p><p>"Which means Zhan Tiri is still playing us against each other."</p><p>He nodded and scrubbed the last of the tears away. "We— we'll get her back."</p><p>Rapunzel smiled at him, glad of the faint light that hid the tears in her own eyes.</p><p>“Rapunzel? Can I— can I ask what your nightmare was? Please? I— I can see it hurting you as much as mine hurts me...”</p><p>Her breath hitched and Rapunzel released him to hug her own shoulders tightly. “I—”</p><p>“You— you don’t have to tell me, but, I want to help you.”</p><p>She shivered. “I— you— Varian, you have to promise not to get upset again.”<br/><br/>“Is it my fault? Was it when I— I kid—”</p><p>“No!” Rapunzel cut him off. “It’s— It’s the scared look I saw on Cass’s face when the amber caught her.” Her voice broke on a sob. “Her hand reaching out to me— just like she used to when I was scared or hurt and needed someone to help me— and—” she choked. “And this time she was the one who needed me, the one terrified and in pain and I— I couldn’t—” Rapunzel broke. A painful sob escaped her, and then another, and then she was crying helplessly.</p><p>“Hey, hey, hey—” Varian caught her and pulled her against him. It was awkward, both of them in the cramped windowsill, but she clung to him like he was the only port in a storm.  “Shhh, shh— oh, <em> please </em> don’t cry, Rapunzel.” </p><p>But it was too late and the tears kept coming. “I want her b-back. She— was my first real friend when I got here, even— even when I was—” her breath hitched on a sound that was almost laughter. “Was too m-nuch for her. I wasn’t really able to— to not come on too strongly in my enthusiasm f-for having a friend.”</p><p>Varian only held her, And by the shaking of his arms, he was crying with her. But caught in her own sorrow, she had no comfort to offer him. But maybe just being there together grieving was what they both needed. Someone who understood the pain.</p><p>It was nearly dawn when a hand shook her out of her uncomfortable doze. Varian was snoring softly on her shoulder. “Hey there, sweetheart. You two okay?”</p><p>She looked up into Eugene’s concerned face, and tried to make herself smile. “I— we’re getting there.”</p><p>“Ahh, <em> Blondie.” </em> He bent over her, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple and then slipped his arms around both of them, “C’mere, kids, lets get both of you back into a— well, not a bed but better than a windowsill.” He glanced up at Shorty sprawled across the antlers of the moosehead on the wall. One eyebrow went up and the corner of his mouth twisted sideways. “Or whatever <em> that </em>is.”</p><p>He grunted, somehow hefting both of them into his arms. It wasn't an easy or particularly comfortable position, but he managed it. She could see the effort on his face.</p><p>"Eugene—!" Rapunzel protested.</p><p>"Shhh, you'll wake the kid."</p><p>"But—"</p><p>"You two together barely weigh more than a bird." He shushed her. "I need to feed you more. Now, let's get you someplace better than the window." Ruddiger chirped and climbed up onto his shoulder. "Oh, good, the pest's here too."</p><p>In spite of his complaints, he carried them both back to the nest of blankets they had been sharing, stepping carefully around the others slumbering on the wooden floor.</p><p>Eugene set Rapunzel and Varian down in the blankets and settled behind her, pulling her close to his chest, one hand stroking her hair soothingly. She hugged Varian close and tried to let herself take comfort in their presence.</p><p>She hoped Eugene wouldn't ask about what had occurred. She didn't want to bring it up again. Because she knew she would tell him what she had kept from saying to Varian.</p><p>She had to cling to the desperate hope that her Cass was still there, under all the rage. Because losing her for good would break her and nothing would be able to put her back together again... She was certain of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So maybe rewatching the ending of season one spurred me into writing this one. I may have made <i>myself</i> cry.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Remembering Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sometimes— it kept him awake long past time he really should have been asleep. The memories lingered there, right behind his closed eyelids. The nightmare chase through the woods, the infant princess’s wails echoing in his ears— finding the cottage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He remembered her most of all, small— too small, and thin, crying out for the mother that abandoned her. The tears on her face as that monster of a woman cut the rope bridge, leaving them stranded, and fleeing with the babe in her arms, and ignoring the frightened wail of the child she left behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had carried her in front of him on his horse back to the palace, leaving his soldiers to continue the hunt. The child in his arms was shell-shocked, tears streaming down her pale face. He’d cradled her close, aching for her. She had deserved none of what happened to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He'd</span>
  <em>
    <span> hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> leaving her with one of the palace nursemaids so he could rejoin the frantic search. The feel of her tiny hands clinging desperately to his sleeve as he'd handed her to old Annika had haunted him for the three days they had fruitlessly searched the woods around Corona. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annika had told him later that the child had cried inconsolably the entire three days and had barely eaten anything. All she'd been able to get from the little girl was her name, Cassandra. When Annika brought the little girl to him, she had latched onto his neck with desperate strength, begging him not to leave her behind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rocked her in his arms and whispered reassurances that he would always return to her. He mentally renewed his vow to keep her safe with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He'd long slept in the barracks with the rest of the palace guard, but one look at the child in his arms had nixed that. She could not be raised in a barracks. The guard, no matter how well intentioned, would be no place for a girl so young. He'd asked the palace steward to requisition him a room and had taken her off to the kitchens to coax something into her while the steward took care of it. Warm milk with spices, vanilla and honey had been accepted with only a little coaxing, and by the time she was halfway through the mug, she was sagging in her chair. The past few days of stress and tears had worn her down to complete exhaustion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The steward had come back and he’d picked her up, carrying her off to his newly-assigned room. Even more than half-asleep, she didn’t want to let go of him, so he settled on the bed (he made a mental note to get an extra one for her later) with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glad there was no one else around to hear him, he’d sung an old lullaby until she was completely asleep. When he could ease her fingers out of his shirt, he settled her into a more comfortable position. Smoothing her tumbled curls away from her brow, he’d realized that this was his life from now on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was her father now. He had promised her safety and he would not renege on that promise. And honestly, there was no regret in the thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had worked her way into his heart in surprisingly little time— and the first time she had called him </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Daddy’</span>
  </em>
  <span> he’d nearly cried in front of one of his lieutenants. He’d had to threaten him with punishment detail to keep him from talking. She was his little girl. His daughter, in true, no matter the circumstances of her adoption.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, some twenty-odd years later, when he saw her sprawled on the ground next to the Princess, bloody and her black rock armor shattered by the blow she had taken from the wretched demon Zhan Tiri to protect Rapunzel— all he could remember was the tiny child he’d carried back to the palace one dreadful night and he choked, stumbling over his own feet in his haste to run to her. He turned her over, his heart in his throat. She felt so frail, and part of her hair (still the cyan shade bestowed by the moonstone, he noted absently) was dyed an ugly color by blood, but she was still breathing and that was enough to loosen the vice around his chest a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cass? <em>Honey?”</em> He begged. The princess was crying and speaking next to him but he couldn’t hear her over the sound of his own pulse thundering in his ears. “Cassandra?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For several agonizingly long moments, she didn’t move at all, her faint breathing the only indication she still lived. Then her bruised looking eyelids fluttered and she stirred weakly, a hiss of pain escaping her bloodied lips. Her pale gray eyes opened and she stared up into his face, but she didn’t seem to see him, her stare unfocused and dazed. “Cassandra? Honey?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked slowly and sense came back into her gaze. “Dad?” she asked weakly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He crushed her to him. “I’m here, baby. And I’m not letting you go again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her arms came up to give him a terrifyingly weak hug. “I’m sorry, daddy. So, so sorry.” Her voice was a threadbare whisper, heavy with regret and tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re forgiven,” he breathed, squeezing her tightly. “As long as you’re home now.” He only dimly registered the princess wrapping both of them in her arms,  her salty tears wetting the shoulder of his tunic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I— I—" Cassandra's breath hitched. "If you'll have me back, I think I— I'd like to come home."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel's voice answered before he could get words out past the thickness in his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You were never not welcome back," Rapunzel pledged, shaking fingers stroking bloodied hair away from Cassandra's face. "Come home, Cass. Please. We’ve missed you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve missed me too.” There was something of her old fire in Cassandra’s reply, though she was dreadfully weak and hurt. “The me I used to be, the one that was friends with a princess and daughter to someone who actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>love her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does,” her father corrected. “Still </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> love her. Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> stopped loving her.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've debated expanding this one into a larger story because it seems like there is so much in their backstory, but for now this is it, my desperate need for some resolution between Cassandra and her father (Can we please give the man a <i>name</i>, Disney?)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. So you want me to be the bad guy?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was written before the series finale, so yeah... Something I thought that Cassandra <i>should</i> have noticed and sparked a very dark thought.</p><p>To quote my beta and dearest friend, <i>"Cass doesn't jump to conclusions, she rockets."</i></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the tumult, she hadn't noticed it at first. Too much happening and then there was Varian with his damned Obsidian project or whatever he had called it with his stupid amber compound.</p><p><em>Fine</em>! If they wanted her to be the bad guy, the bad guy she could be. It was when that damned Eugene called for a retreat and everyone obeyed him that she realized what she had missed before. Fitzherbert--- the wretch was wearing a Captain's uniform. The Captain of the Guard! How?!</p><p>A sudden realization hit and more black rock erupted from the ground with a vicious fury like never before, fueled by a rage Cassandra could not contain. </p><p><em>So that's how it was, eh, Rapunzel?</em> Removing her father from the position he'd worked his whole life for only to install her thief lover into that hallowed position?</p><p>Fine. If Rapunzel wanted an enemy that badly, she'd just made herself an implacable one...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Splitting Heirs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This one is a bit of an AU, inspired by a comment made by my lovely partner in crime Eternal_Phantom.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Quirin had known it was too late to save her by the time the nearest midwife had been summoned, nearly twenty hours into the queen's travails,  and those come far too early. Queen Melisande's pregnancy had been rife with troubles from the start, the sorceress queen spending days in the company of the moonstone in order to free their kingdom of it's curse. She had not known she was pregnant at the time and once it had been confirmed, Edmund had forbidden her from venturing too near the stone's chamber. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the damage had been done. As her pregnancy progressed, so too did her illness. By the time she was some five months in, she had lost so much weight that her growing belly was a burden almost too much for her wasted frame. She had worked what magic she could to bolster her own health and that of her unborn child, and for a time she held steady. But as her confinement approached, her magic failed— </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> at least. Her ever-growing belly spoke better news for the child within. But long before she should have, the queen had suffered the first pangs of birthing pains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some hours after the midwife had taken over the queen's chamber, chasing out all others as she labored to save the queen and heir— the old woman had emerged. Her gray eyes were solemn as she presented Edmund with his child, a boy she had cut from the dying queen's womb. Melisande had </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> survived his birth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Edmund had barely had enough presence of mind to pass the boy off to Quirin before going prostrate with grief. Quirin had confirmed that like the line of dark kings before him, the babe bore the birthmark of their lineage, a three point crown— in front of the priests, before taking the wee baby to find a wet-nurse to sustain him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The grieving king had been plied with strong drink and carried off to his bed to weep himself into exhausted slumber, while the priests took the task of announcing the birth of the heir to the kingdom, leaving the midwife to clean and prepare the queen's body for the men who would lay her out for her final rest. It would not do for them to see what had needed done to save the heir.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was well into the hour of the wolf when the old midwife left the castle and the washed and dressed body of the queen behind. She carried her bag of simples, though none of them had been able to save Melisande, and tucked inside the heavy canvas rucksack, one tiny, precious secret, wrapped in a soft blanket, with the mark of the dark kings high on one pale little hip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She waited. She had centuries of experience at that. She had spent much time planning and plotting, as natural to her as breathing. She— in a time </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> past— had been promised a throne by her master. Beauty she had, and kept as long as she served willingly. Her one act of defiance had cost her dearly and after that she had been the most devoted of servants, to keep her beauty and the promises of wealth and power. Magic she had, but power, </span>
  <em>
    <span>power—</span>
  </em>
  <span> power was only in the hands of royalty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, things had fallen apart. Her master— gone— and with them all her beauty, and all the things promised her were dust in the wind. But she had forgotten none of her teachings— and had found a way to gain back the beauty and youth stolen from her. But power— </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> she had none of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But there were ways. Ways to gain what she desired. A little careful planning, and she had a way. A small kingdom, and with it her chance to have the power that even her master had coveted. More the fool them, for in her quiet and subtle way, she already had half what brute force had not won.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now, sleeping in her arms, she had the key to the other half. Edmund— drunk on grief or not— would not recognize in her the midwife who had cut his heir out of the womb of the dying queen. And neither would any of the others who had seen her that night. Nor would any who had seen an old woman in the kitchen the night before, preparing a posset for the queen. A posset laced with herbs that would bring on labor early, before any of the usual midwives or witnesses could be summoned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had gone long between visits to her secret, the source of her youth and beauty, so that it had been a wizened old woman who had come to aid the birth, but now she was in the prime of life again, young and lovely. And she need only arrange a little more and wait for the pieces to fall where they would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when tragedy befell the grieving king and his little heir, well, she would come in with a true born heir with the mark of the dark kings there for all to see. And it was a genuine one, that the priests— keepers of the spell that bound the mark to bloodline— could not disprove.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Laughing, she cradled the baby to her breast. "Yes, Mommy will have all she ever wanted and more, right, my little one—? Everything she </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At last, it was all falling into place, and Gothel couldn't be more pleased.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gothel woke in the middle of the night, feeling as if the cottage were shaking itself apart around her, but the night was quiet, with crickets chirring in the grass outside and everything undisturbed. In the bassinet, the child was whimpering and squirming in fitful sleep but had not yet broken into the ear-splitting wails they were prone to. Absently, Gothel rose, nudging the bassinet with a foot to start it rocking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had woken her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could see nothing that might have been cause for her disturbance, but she had not lived as long as she had by taking things for granted. She was about to open the door when it felt like the world dropped out from under her feet. She staggered, gripping the doorframe to keep from falling to the ground. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What—?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She— the currents of magic around her— they writhed, as if something had disturbed a great beast from its slumber. Stumbling back to her feet, she wavered to the table where her scrying mirror sat. What had happened?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hands were shaking as she reached for the mirror, and she saw an age spot visible on one of them. She made an absent note to visit her Sundrop flower soon, even as she called on the magic of the mirror. The black glass clouded and color swirled across it, disturbed by the massive upheaval in the magic. Angrily, she focused her concentration on it. She would not be thwarted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Far too slowly, the mirror began to clear. At first she thought it was fading back to its default black, but there was a small smudge of gray. She squinted at it and bent more magic on the mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was that a castle wall? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, it cleared and she caught her breath. What? How had—? Her concentration dissolved with her confusion and the damning image faded to black. Black rocks—? The moonstone— someone had tampered with the moonstone!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gasping, she leaned against the table, arms trembling. That fool, Edmund— what had he done in his grief? </span>
  <em>
    <span>What had he done!?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It took too long to calm herself to the point that she could reliably make the scrying mirror work and what she saw infuriated her.  She watched until she could bear it no longer. What had that fool done? A kingdom in ruin, people fleeing under his orders. A kingdom of death, now! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All her hard work— all her plans— Ashes on the wind once again! Rage bubbled up in her breast and she screamed, swiping the mirror off the table with fury. It landed with a thud on the soft carpet and did nothing to assuage the paroxysm of absolute fury clouding her senses.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"That wretched fool!</span>
  </em>
  <span> All my preparations, ruined! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ruined!" </span>
  </em>
  <span>Gothel hurled a chest of vials against the wall of the cottage, taking a vicarious pleasure in watching the bottles explode on impact. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Months</span>
  </em>
  <span> of work, gone!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tiny, frightened wail froze the woman where she stood. She turned to see the little infant struggling in the bassinet, frightened by Gothel's screams of thwarted rage and her wanton destruction. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Useless now. Utterly useless.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Rage colored her vision and for a moment she stood over the cradle, fingers crooked into claws, staring down at the tiny, helpless thing wailing there. The babe was useless to her now, a burden she did now want or need. For one fateful moment, she lowered her hand, feeling the pulse of life beneath her fingers, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>easy to simply snuff out. The wolf holding the prey's life in its jaws, ready to bite down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the beast released its hold, her fingers relaxing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Perhaps the child could still be of some use. Gothel lifted the baby. "Shush, Cassandra, you useless lump," she crooned sweetly, bouncing the babe against her breast. "Mommy will just have to find another use for you, wretch."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was inspired by a discussion on Discord with Phantom, in which she said "Eugene and Cass being twins, Gothel was the midwife and, since ultrasounds weren't a thing back then, spirited away one twin to later give her access to the throne. But then Edmund screwed up the kingdom with the moonstone and Cass became worthless to her. If only because that takes Gothel sleeping with anyone off the table!"</p><p>I have several more ficbits for this, though not much in the way of a plotline as of yet, so do let me know if anyone is interested in more of this odd little AU.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Splitting Heirs: Reveal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I <i>may</i> have written more for this odd little AU. I don't know if anyone is interested, but I figured I'd put the second part up.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"You're lucky Fidella knows her way back home, especially with you unconscious in the saddle!" Rapunzel scolded softly, Cass's fingers tightening on hers as the needle pulled torn flesh together again. "What happened?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass resisted the urge to curse at the physician as the needle stabbed into her thigh again. Even with the numbing effects of the potion he’d dumped on it, she could still feel every stitch. "Bandits," she answered through gritted teeth. "They were ambushing caravans on the trade road close to Sweetwater. I set up an ambush for them." Her grin was feral. "They never knew what hit them. The ones who survived are in a cell at Pitchford, awaiting the king's justice."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That will do it," the wizened doctor said, washing blood from the wound and binding linen bandages around her thigh. "Keep it clean and don't do anything to pull the stitches. Come back in a week and we'll see if it's ready for me to take them out. Stay here for the night because once that dose of poppy extract you drank hits, you won’t be in any condition to walk."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks," Cass hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The physician took himself out of the infirmary while Rapunzel busied herself getting a bottle of bruise salve down and treating the rest of Cass's injuries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass relaxed under her hands as the salve eased the pain. She was already feeling a little woozy. "Thanks, Raps, but you don't have to look after me. A princess doesn't need to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Finish that and I'll whack you. A princess does for her friends."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass sighed but let Rapunzel do as she wanted. Rapunzel's hand stilled high on her hip where she had taken a shield bash. "Huh. That's funny."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What is?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gentle fingers traced on her skin light enough to tickle. "You have a birthmark here. It... it looks just like the one Eugene has here." She prodded the top of Cass's rear on the left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I did not need to know that, Raps." Cass made a face. The world tilted a little and Rapunzel helped her settle down on the cot when she wobbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass was nearly asleep as Rapunzel murmured. "It's funny. I've never seen nearly identical birthmarks before."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"She's fine. Lost a lot of blood and got a bit battered, but she's stitched up and resting in the infirmary. We can go see her tomorrow." Rapunzel rested her head in Eugene's lap while he was reading some papers in bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't ever tell anyone else I said this, but it'll be good to see her. It's been what— over a year since her last visit?" Eugene dropped a hand to stroke Rapunzel's hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Almost a year." Rapunzel replied drowsily, leaning into the petting like a cat. "She was here for my birthday last year. And my birthday is in a few weeks, so just under a year." She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her nose in his stomach. "Put out the lamp and let's go to bed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One minute, Sunshine. I have to get this schedule finalized. Then I'm all yours." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel giggled softly. "You're all mine anyway." She slipped her hands under his shirt, seeking warmth. Her fingers traced idle patterns on his lower back. She giggled sleepily. "It's funny, you know. Cass has a birthmark just like yours." She poked the mark in question, it's location long since committed to memory. "Same shape too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene stiffened in her arms. "Say that again?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel yipped as he husband abruptly got up, tumbling her out of his lap. "Wha—?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sunshine, please repeat what you just said." His tone was unusually solemn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uhm— Cass has a birthmark just like yours? Close to the same spot, but more on her hip."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You said it was the same shape?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel frowned and folded her arms. "I said that already. It's just like yours, it looks just like a little crown."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene dragged a hand down his face. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eugene! Language!" Rapunzel scolded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To hell with my language, Sunshine. We need to go down to the infirmary, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now."</span>
  </em>
  <span> Eugene grabbed her wrist, tugging her out of bed and heading for the door at a pace she was hard pressed to keep up with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eugene, she's already sleeping! Which is what we should be doing! What's going on?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have to see this for myself before I can answer that question," Eugene said grimly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can't!" Rapunzel yelped. "It's— it's not in a place you should be looking!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just make sure she has some smallclothes on, Sunshine, because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene burst through the infirmary door and then had to duck as an ewer hit the doorframe right where his head had been, shattering. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wild-eyed, Cass was sitting up in the bed, one hand holding the sheets up to her chest and the other still in the air from her throw. "What the <em>hell,</em> Fitzherbert!?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's what I'd like to know," Rapunzel fumed, pulling her hand free of Eugene's and folding her bare arms across her chest. Even clad only in a thin blue nightgown, her fury was enough to make her an intimidating figure. "Eugene, you need to start explaining now!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brushing shards of the ceramic off his nightshirt, Eugene turned to his wife. "Sunshine, I have to see first. I promise I'll explain after that. I need to know."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Know what?" Cass hissed. She was in pain, tired to the bone and had been woken out of a drugged sleep by Eugene's precipitous entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene, looking a bit wild-eyed himself, said, "Forgive me, Cass," and lunged for the bed, yanking the sheet away from the wounded woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass, red in the face, yelped and decked Eugene right in the jaw with every ounce of her strength.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene went down on his rear with a thump, pulling the sheet completely off of Cass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass shrieked and tried to cover her mostly naked lower half with both hands. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"WHAT THE <strong>FUCK,</strong> FITZHERBERT?!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel, rightfully indignant on her friend's behalf, grabbed another sheet from an empty cot and swaddled a seething Cassandra in it, glaring daggers at her husband. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Eugene!"</span>
  </em>
  <span> her expression could have curdled milk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Give me my dagger, Raps," Cassandra fumed, incensed. "You don't need him with all of his body parts still attached."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene, rubbing a very sore jaw, rose to his feet. "Cass— please, I need to see that birthmark. I promise I— I'll try to explain everything after that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How about you start with the explanation before I carve you into cutlets?" Cass seethed, only Rapunzel's comforting hold keeping her from going for Eugene, wounded or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eugene," Rapunzel's voice was cold enough to cut. "You need to explain first. That is an order."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene flinched, shaken out of his frantic state by the ice in his wife's tone. "Sunshine—” he tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Start. Talking." She bit each word off like it had personally offended her. "Now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene looked away, unable to stand against the wrath in his wife's eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass had stopped trying to rise and merely watched Rapunzel out of the corner of her eye. She had never seen her this furious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene sagged down on the infirmary bed across from the one Cass occupied. He put his head in his hands and sighed heavily. "Well, Sunshine, you remember— when we were in the dark Kingdom— and Edmund— well, he told me—" he seemed to be struggling to find words. "Told me—"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That you were his son," Cass added sharply, irritated by his dithering. "Point?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't look up. "I— a part of me wanted to believe him, but I've been lied to before, lied to and used. I— I asked him to prove it to me. How could he know I was his son when he'd only just met me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused and stared at the wall for a long moment. When the silence had stretched to the point of breaking Cass's formidable temper, she snapped. "For once, Fitzherbert, </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk more."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene sagged even further. "He told me that there was incontrovertible proof on my skin, that I was an heir to the Dark Kingdom."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass was the first to parse it out. Her look went from furious to disbelieving before metamorphosing into amusement. She let out a bark of laughter. "You're kidding. You think somehow because I have a birthmark I'm— no way, Fitzherbert. I'm no illegitimate heir to the dark kingdom. You're out of your tiny little mind!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not illegitimate." Eugene didn't look up. "He told me that the first king, Sorcerer king Bernhard, created the spell to assure there could be no pretenders to the throne. Only a true-born heir of the royal line would bear the mark. Edmund showed me his, to prove it." He blinked and clenching his hands into fists, looked up to meet her eyes. "That's why I need you to let me see it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass scoffed, pulling the sheet tighter around herself.  "You think I— no. You are out of your damned mind."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cass—" Rapunzel's voice was soft and soothing, her mediator tone. "Maybe we should let him see, set both of you at ease. If he's wrong, we'll all have a good laugh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And if I'm right—?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is ridiculous," Cass's hands went white-knuckled on the sheet. "How could I  be—?" She snorted and shook her head. "You told us that your mother died giving birth to you. I'm younger than you, so how could that be—? Did Edmund get remarried or something?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was bristling again, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Cass, please. Your dad— he said, he thought you were maybe four when he found you, but that you were small and too thin, and you didn’t know your age. So you could be—"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Older? Raps, this is ridiculous. Your husband has lost his mind."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then let him see and we can all laugh this off. Please, Cass."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, for the sake of my sanity—" Cass scowled but let the sheet slide off her shoulders, pooling it over her legs. Painfully she shifted so that the wounded leg (where this supposed birthmark was) was tilted up. "Get it over with. And if you touch me, Fitzherbert, you'll be eating your teeth."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel carefully arranged the sheet to cover her, leaving only the hip with the mark bared. "Eugene—?" She said carefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Eugene shuffled over to the bed, looking down at the dark mark branding Cassandra's pale as milk skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat down, forgetting there was nothing under him, landing on his rump on the floor. "Fuck."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eugene?" Rapunzel asked softly while Cass turned to peer down at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They— they're identical." Eugene said hollowly. He lifted shocked eyes up to Cassandra's. "Hi, princess."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cassandra flopped bonelessly back on the cot. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” There was no anger in her voice now, just a bone-deep weariness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I were.” Eugene buried his face in his hands. “I— I need to send a message to my dad, Sunshine. He needs to know this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass turned to glare down at him. “Don’t you fucking dare—” she hissed. “I don’t care what some stupid birthmark means.”</span>
</p><p><span>She turned her gaze up to Rapunzel, who was grinning. “What are you smiling about, Raps?”</span><span><br/></span><span><br/></span><span>Rapunzel’s smile widened. “You’re a princess too, Cass! We can be princess pals together!”</span><span><br/></span><span><br/></span><span>Cass groaned, flopping an arm over her eyes. “Raps, I adore you, but there is no way in hell I am a princess. And for pity’s sake, never say princess pals ever, </span><em>ever</em> again.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Just Beachy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A silly little short written for my friend ex_libris_ad_astra based on a fantasy pin of a shirtless Eugene showing off. Pure silliness and fluff. Takes place some undetermined time after the series finale.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was a hot, sultry summer day, the kind with insects chirring in the grass and birds circling overhead, the heat made bearable only by the sea breeze. Max and Fidella splashed in the surf, playing some sort of game of equine tag with rules known only to them. Pascal basked lazily on a rock while Rapunzel, stripped down to a thin chemise, giggled and splashed among the shallow waves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass, sitting on some of the rocks that dotted the shoreline, had stripped off her boots and tunic, wearing only a tank top and her pants, rolled up to above her knees. Her hair, longer now than it had been the last time she visited, was knotted at the nape of her neck, and her lips curved in a smile as she watched the princess frolic in the surf like a child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>True to her nature as a rogue knight (a name gifted her in stories and finally made real by the selfsame princess plashing about in the waves) she had swept in and stolen Rapunzel out of a day of boring council meetings to play in the water, a welcome break for someone like Rapunzel, who could not sit still to save her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glanced at the sun gleaming overhead. “He’s taking longer than I thought,” she commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you didn’t exactly leave a map when you stole me away!” Rapunzel giggled, kicking spray into the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d think he’d have figured it out by now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He did,” Hoofbeats heralded the arrival of the subject of their discussion. Eugene was astride a gold-coated guard horse, and had exchanged his captain’s uniform for a pair of brown pants and a white poet’s shirt, left unlaced half-way down his chest. His feet were bare, his boots tied to the back of the saddle next to a large wicker hamper. “He also figured you hadn’t brought food for the princess you ‘borrowed,’ so I came prepared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel, laughing, pelted out of the water to tackle her husband in a hug as he slid out of the saddle. “My hero!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass snorted as she came over to relieve the horse of her tack and the hamper, setting her free into the surf with Max and Fidella. “I’m the one who rescues you from a stuffy council meeting, and he’s the hero?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene gave her a triumphant smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s my hero, come to save me from starvation, you’re my heroine knight come to save me from dying of boredom.” Rapunzel caroled, taking one of the handles of the heavy hamper to help Cass carry it over to a large flat-topped rock that would be their impromptu picnic table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If she really was, she’d have been here a week ago, when those diplomats from the Southern Isles were here.” Eugene opened the basket and pulled out a bottle of wine and three glasses. “A bigger lot of stuffed shirts I have never met.” He deftly uncorked the bottle and poured all of them a glass, handing them out with a grimace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They were just a little— okay, boring.” Rapunzel took her glass and clinked it with first his and then Cass’s. “But they’re trying to distance themselves from that coup attempt in Arendelle about five years back. So they have to be on their best behavior.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, their best behavior is mind-numbingly dull.” Eugene flopped on the rock and dug in the basket for the bread and a packet of ham slices.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel found a wedge of cheese and a knife and began to cut slices of the cheese, passing them to her husband to layer on the sandwiches he was making. “Kinda,” she agreed, setting the knife aside to investigate the rest of the provender. “Ooh, berries!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass rolled her eyes, taking the sandwich Eugene held out to her as Rapunzel tossed a berry into the air for Pascal, who lazily snagged it with his tongue. “If I’d have been here a week ago, I’d probably have wound up stabbing one of them. I was in the Isles last fall, and their attitudes—” She took a vicious bite of her food before continuing. “The implications that as a woman knight I was no better than I should be lasted until I took a few of the worst offenders and proved to them I could beat them with one hand tied behind my back— literally. From when one of them tried to have me taken into </span>
  <em>
    <span>custody,</span>
  </em>
  <span> to correct my wild and wanton ways.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cass!” Rapunzel looked incensed on her behalf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m the only one allowed to insult you like that. I’d have helped.” Eugene grumbled. “Though, ‘wild and wanton?’ Have they actually met you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, ease off. I proved that I didn’t need a prince to rescue me.” Cass smirked. “Apparently I was a hoyden and a temptress because I wore pants.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods, I’d love to see their reactions to someone from Ingvarr.” Eugene laughed. “Hey, Sunshine, there’s an idea. Next time they send Envoys, we’ll invite a group from Ingvarr at the same time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eugene. We don’t need to start a feud between them.” Rapunzel scolded, but laughingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take all the fun out of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat and ate, Cass relaying tales of her travels until the sun began to tip toward late afternoon. While Cass was finishing the sliced melon that was her favorite (funny how that had been packed in the basket too, along with the strawberries that Rapunzel adored), Eugene shucked off his shirt and went to go round up the horses, who immediately changed their game from their version of tag to keep away and laugh at the human floundering after them in the surf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass and Rapunzel were laughing right along with the horses, and the gold mare— predictably enough being called ‘Goldie’ by Eugene, whirled away, slapping Eugene with a wet tail and knocking him on his ass in the surf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cursing, Eugene scrambled back up and lunged for the nearest horse, managing to get a handful of Fidella’s mane. Triumphant, he whooped and swung up on her back, and then right over as she sidled out from under him, whickering amusement as he landed in the water again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You almost had her that time!” Rapunzel called encouragingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chortling, Cass called out, “Aw, do you need someone with real muscles to come help you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eugene stood up out of the surf and raked wet hair back from his face, offering a rather poor version of his smolder. “As it there’s anyone here who could match these babies!” He flexed his arms at shoulder height.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rapunzel wolf-whistled while Cass made an exaggerated gagging sound. “I just ate! Are you <em>trying</em> to make me lose my lunch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have no taste, Dragon Lady!” Eugene huffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better taste than that.” She retorted with another gag. She rummaged in the basket and came up with three apples. She held them up with a sharp whistle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately the horses abandoned their game with Eugene and splashed through the surf back to the shore. “Looks like they have better taste too,” she taunted, easily slipping a bridle on Goldie while the mare crunched at the apple. She passed the reins to Rapunzel and bridled Max and Fidella just as easily while Eugene slogged out of the water with a disgruntled look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cass threw his shirt at him. It landed on his head and even Rapunzel snorted laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re all picking on me!” He accused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make it so easy.” Cass retorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, It’s okay, Eugene. I still think you’re sexy!” Rapunzel chimed in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will throw up on you, Raps.” Cass grimaced. “I refuse to acknowledge that anyone can find that attractive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.” Rapunzel scolded with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I love you, but your lack of taste concerning him is well known.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>